"Continued food assistance is necessary in all countries of
eastern Africa and the Great Lakes region as well as in
Angola, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone," says the report.
In total, 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa face
exceptional food emergencies (for a list of the countries,
click on the graphics).

Drought, heavy rain
and civil strifeThroughout the continent natural disasters and
civil conflicts are the principal causes of the food
shortages.

In Kenya, last year's severe drought seriously undermined
the food security of nearly 4.4 million people and resulted
in a massive relief operation. Despite some improvement, the
food supply situation is still precarious.

In parts of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe,
severe floods have disrupted the lives of about 960 000
people. The disruption includes damage to infrastructure and
housing as well as crop losses.

In Eritrea, more than 1.8 million people -- nearly half
the total population -- have been displaced by the war with
Ethiopia or affected by drought. "The outlook for the 2001
agricultural season, starting in the next few weeks, is
bleak, as farmers have not returned to their farms so far
and large tracts of land are still inaccessible due to
landmines," says the report. In Ethiopia, despite improved
overall food availability, 6.5 million people affected by
successive droughts and the fighting with Eritrea depend on
food aid.

In the Great Lakes region, the food supply situation
remains precarious. The report calls the food outlook in the
Democratic Republic of Congo "bleak" and says that food
assistance is still needed. The country has 2 million
internally displaced people and an additional 333 000
refugees, mainly from Angola. The number of refugees keeps
rising as fighting continues to flare up in both countries,
bringing serious nutritional and health consequences. An
outbreak of cassava mosaic virus has seriously reduced the
cassava harvest, particularly in the eastern part of the
Democratic Republic of Congo. This has further aggravated
the food problems. According to the report, food assistance
is also needed elsewhere in the Great Lakes region,
including Burundi and Rwanda.

Falling harvestsThe report forecasts a sharp fall in cereal
production for 2001 in southern Africa, mainly due to a
prolonged mid-season dry spell and subsequent heavy rains
that damaged food crops in most countries. The FAO March
forecast for the maize crop, which accounts for 75 percent
of cereal production in southern Africa, points to a
decrease of 27 percent compared to last year.

In the Sahel, reduced harvests have tightened the food
situation, notably in Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger. Food
distributions to the affected populations are under way and
the governments have appealed to donors for assistance.
Despite some improvement in food production, Liberia and
Sierra Leone remain heavily dependent on international food
aid. Guinea is faced with rebel attacks in border areas,
which are hindering agricultural production and have
displaced people.

In a bit of good news, Somalia has seen satisfactory
primary and secondary harvests. "Consequently, the number of
people in need of food assistance has declined from 750 000
in 2000 to 500 000 this year," the report states. However,
recent nutrition surveys indicate persistent high
malnutrition rates in the country, reflecting slow household
recovery from a succession of droughts and the long-term
effects of years of insecurity.

The report projects that sub-Saharan Africa's overall
cereal import requirements will remain high in 2001, mainly
reflecting the effects of last year's drought in eastern
Africa, reduced harvests in parts of the Sahel and an
expectedly sharp drop in production in southern Africa.